Augsburg celebrated the holiday period in true Norweigian style, and nearly fifty Augsburg Associates volunteered at the 2017 Velkommen Jul festivities on December 1. Many volunteers were busy putting in extra days to make special Norwegian treats, and arrived early to help butter bread and lefse, and ensure that the event was a huge success.

There was exceptional student participation, including the Associates scholarship students who served waffles to hungry patrons. The event celebrated long-standing Augsburg friendships, and encouraged guests to create new friendships from our diverse community. Guests expressed their appreciation with kind words and contributions, and the scholarship baskets gathered a superb $1190.

Homecoming planning is already underway for Sept. 22-24, 2016. The Alumni Association looks forward to hosting reunions for the classes of 1966, 1976, 1991, and 2006. If you’re a member of these reunion classes, we need your help!

We want this chance to reconnect and revisit the campus to be awesome. If you would be willing to serve as a reunion leader and help coordinate plans and invite classmates, please join your reunion committee! Members of all reunion classes are gathering on campus to discuss ways we can make our reunion meaningful for all of us. We would appreciate your input and invite you to join us.

Please be assured that the time commitment for you is minimal. The Alumni Relations department takes care of a majority of the details, but we need YOUR help deciding how to celebrate this important milestone. We also need your help finding former classmates and encouraging fellow classmates to attend.

Our first meeting is Thursday, May 19, at 7 p.m. in Oren Gateway Center, room 100. Please let the Augsburg Alumni office know if you would be interested in serving on the host committee. RSVP to alumni@augsburg.edu or 612-330-1173. If you would like to be a part of your reunion host committee, but cannot attend the first meeting, please let us know.

In addition, look forward to celebrating the awesome Auggies being honored at Homecoming this year:

• Karim El-Hibri and Kyle Loven ’06 will receive the First Decade Award.

• Norm & Evangeline Hagfors and Dr. Robert (Bob) Stacke ‘71 will receive the The Spirit of Augsburg Award.

Auggies are everywhere, including back in the classroom! Last week, Bill Koschak ’91 came back to speak to the seniors in the Business and Religion Keystone class led by Lori Lohman & Josh Miller. His topic? To speak about his vocational journey, his career path, and advice he would give students today.

Koschak had much to share about his journey from entry level job to partner at KPMG, to vice president of finance at General Mills, and now chief financial officer at YA Engage (formerly known as Young America). He noted he was especially thankful for his adviser, business professor Stu Stoller who first encouraged him to look into public accounting. Koschak made sure Stoller would be in attendance so that he could personally thank him.

Additionally, Koschak shared that he has had three strong mentors in his careerwho were instrumental to his career growth. These mentors were workplace leadershe admired for their management style, ethical behavior, and focus on work-life balance. He made a point to engage with these leaders and check in with them regularly. What started as occasional meetings turned into mentoring relationships that opened up many doors.He challenged the students to seek similar relationships as they start their careers.

Koschak is one of many alumni who have been invited to share their experiences with current students. If you are interested in speaking in classrooms or sharing your stories, contact Volunteer & Alumni Engagement Manager Katie Radford ’12 at radford@augsburg.edu.

Are you looking for an opportunity to make a difference this Earth Day? Enjoy networking with Auggie alumni and some current students who need a study break! Want to learn more about gardening and don’t mind getting your hands a little dirty? With groundbreaking preparations afoot for a new building on campus, the community garden needs your help!

The community garden serves as a place to connect the campus and community through food. In order to continue to fulfill this mission there’s a lot of work to do – raised beds to beautify, pollinator gardens to rework, and all general love and care is appreciated. All of this will help gardeners start the season off right. Come ready to learn, dig, and “grow”!

What: Augsburg Community Garden Earth Day Volunteering and Celebration

Who: All Augsburg alumni are invited to assist a small group of student volunteers on this joint project

When: Earth Day, Friday, April 22, 6 – 7:30 p.m.

Where: Augsburg College Community Garden—Corner of South 7th St. & 20th Ave. South, near parking lot G

The Young Alumni Council is proud to announce the first elected President, Rosine Johnson ’10, and Vice-President, Evan Decker ’12. These positions have been added in preparation for anticipated council growth in engagement opportunities for young alumni. We are currently looking for additional young alumni who are seeking advanced leadership and professional board development experience, while expanding the opportunities for alumni connections to Augsburg College and other alumni. For more information or to apply, please visit our site.

Rosine Mina Johnson graduated in 2010 with a BA in Political Science with a Public Policy Concentration and minored in International Relations. After graduation, she chose to attend Minnesota State University Mankato to receive a Master’s in Public Administration degree, and graduated with high honors in December of 2012. She currently holds a few public sector administrative positions with Hennepin County and local city governments such as the City of Edina and Richfield. Rosine gives back to her community by working with youth ministries at Christ the King Lutheran Church and serves on the church council as well. She also volunteers at local charities and organizations. She loves to be with people, laugh, travel, be silly, cook, garden, ski, read, keep up with current events and politics, and attend Zumba and dance classes.

Vice-President: Evan Decker

​Evan Decker graduated in 2012 with a double major in MIS and Management. While at Augsburg he participated in several activities on campus, including football, the Augsburg Business Organization, and working in the IT department. After graduation, he pursued a career in information systems because it combined two of his passions: business and technology. He currently works as an IT project manager and does consulting projects on the side. Evan joined the council in 2015 because he wants to give back to the college and further develop his leadership skills. Outside of work he enjoys anything away from screens—lifting weights, reading, DIY home improvement projects, hanging out with his cats, and riding his motorcycle.

You can help the Augsburg Alumni Board identify potential recipients for the2016Distinguished Alumni Awards. Use the nomination form to submit nominations by January 4, 2016. The Alumni Board votes on the recipients at their February board meeting.

Award Criteria:
The First Decade Award is presented to Augsburg graduates of the past 10 years who have made significant progress in their professional achievements and contributions to the community, and in so doing exemplify the mission of the College: to prepare future leaders in service to the world. Graduates from the day, weekend, and graduate programs are eligible.

The Spirit of Augsburg Award honors alumni and friends of the College who have given exceptional service that contributes substantially to the well being of Augsburg by furthering its purposes and programs.

The Augsburg Alumni Association bestow the Distinguished Alumni Award in recognition of significant achievement in vocation, for outstanding contribution to church and community, and for a life that exemplifies the ideals and mission of Augsburg College.

Are you curious how the Hagfors Center for Science, Business and Religion will impact campus green space? Do you have questions or ideas for how Augsburg could maximize our green space in our urban neighborhood? Do you really love trees? Join us October 14th for a special chapel service featuring Professor Larry Crockett who will share insights and philosophies related to stewarding green space.

Following chapel, join us from 11am-12pm in Oren Gateway Center Room 100 for a panel with Q&A moderated by Regent Matt Entenza. The panel will feature partners helping in planning Augsburg’s campus transformation into an Urban Arboretum. Learn how we will maximize green space to improve experiences for students, faculty, staff, and our neighbors!

Augsburg Women in Philanthropy (AWE) is excited to formally create the AWE-Inspired Philanthropy Council. The Council functions in an advisory and support capacity to the Office of Advancement. Our goal is to strengthen the culture of philanthropy among Augsburg women of all ages. We will focus on ways to educate, engage and celebrate Augsburg’s alumnae donors.

Just two years ago, a small group of AWEsome women put up a bold goal—to raise $100,000 and sponsor a student study lounge in the Center for Science, Business, and Religion. We went on to surpass our goal and to date have raised $126,000. There is still time to be a part of this landmark campaign that will close on December 31, 2015.

This shows what a committed group of women can do. It is no surprise that the secret to making positive and lasting change in the world is hidden in plain sight. In fact, it is more than half of the population. Women vote more, volunteer more, and give more to charities than men. They control more than half of the total wealth in America!

Buy a Brick, Build a Legacy
This campaign has generated so much enthusiasm and renewed so many wonderful memories and stories of Augsburg legacy. Before the campaign closes on December 31, there is still time to honor a special person, a faculty member, Auggie family members, and classmates. The personalized brick wall will have a prominent space in the new building.

In early August, two of the three remaining elm trees in Augsburg’s quad—an alumni gift from more than 50 years ago—were removed because of Dutch Elm disease. While it was a sad day on campus when the trees were felled, we reserved some of the wood to be transformed into pieces of art, partnering with Tom Peter, a local certified arborist and wood-turning artist.

The elms created wonderful character of space in the quad for decades, and have helped inspire our longer-term visioning of the central campus as a larger green space that, over time, becomes an even more significant component of campus life.

The design for an expanded quad is one of the central ideas resulting from work done in 2011 to develop a campus master plan, and has recently inspired new thinking around a special campaign effort to support the creation of an “urban arboretum”—a multi-functional green space that deepens the student, faculty, staff, and community experience through hands-on education, research, and recreation.

To learn more about Augsburg’s urban arboretum and how you may own a wood-turned creation from the elm trees, please contact Amanda Storm Schuster, Director of Leadership Gifts at 612-330-1098 or schustea@augsburg.edu